'NCIS,' spinoff keep CBS at the top of the heap

If television's weekly list of the most popular programs is starting to get monotonous by the fourth week of the new TV season, that's OK by CBS.

The network was the nation's most popular in prime time again the week of Oct. 12-18, with an average of nearly 3 million more viewers than second-place ABC. "NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" were the most-watched program and new program for the fourth straight week, the first time a network can claim that at the start of a season since NBC did it with "ER" and "Jesse" in 1998, the Nielsen Co. said.

There are other small stories developing. ABC's "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town" are moderate successes as the network tries to establish a Wednesday comedy night. That same night, ABC's "Hank" (No. 60 last week) is looking like a failure for star Kelsey Grammer. NBC's nurse-centric "Mercy" is faring better than the network's more action-oriented "Trauma."

For the week, network averages were: CBS , 11.9 million viewers (7.5 rating, 12 share); ABC, 9 million (5.8, 10); Fox, 8.1 million (4.8, 8); NBC, 7.4 million (4.7, 8); CW, 2.3 million (1.5, 2); ION, 910,000 (0.6, 1).

In the evening news race: NBC "Nightly News," 8.8 million (5.7, 11); ABC "World News," 7.7 million (5.2, 10); "CBS Evening News," 5.9 million (4.1, 8).

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1 NCIS (CBS)

3 Dancing With the Stars (ABC)

4 NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

5 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)

6 The Mentalist (CBS)

7 60 Minutes (CBS)

9 Dancing With the Stars Results (ABC)

10 Criminal Minds (CBS)

11 Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

12 Desperate Housewives (ABC)

13 House (Fox)

15 CSI: Miami (CBS)

16 The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

17 The Good Wife (CBS)

18 Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick (NBC)

19 Survivor: Samoa (CBS)